Honors Student Grants
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant
Grants up to $250 (individual) or $500 (group) are available to support research expenses incurred by students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. Requests for funds are made jointly by student(s) and mentor.
Application deadline: February 18, 2021
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria, funding policies, and application and award procedures
Application form
Excel (.xls) file to be completed electronically and submitted via CyBox; additional instructions are provided on the form and in the information and guidelines
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Celia Delury, Biological Systems Engineering
Faculty mentor: William Beck - Natural Resource Ecology & Management
Project name: Woodchips for water quality: Influence of select Iowa wood species on bioreactor performance
Lilyahna Kowal, Genetics
Faculty mentor: Gwyn Beattie - Plant Pathology
Project name: Microbiome drivers of fitness benefits in drought-stressed plants
Olivia Saul, Animal Science
Faculty mentor: Suzanne Millman - Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine
Project name: Effects of virtual reality on the behavior of laying hens
Emma Buchacker, Microbiology
Emily Kahl, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Larry Halverson - Plant Pathology
Project name: Characterization of a synthetic maize microbiome
Darcy Bonds, Horticulture
Andrew Jochum, Chemistry
Landon Wahe, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel - Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Improving sustainability of Iowa agriculture: Synergy between improved nutrient recycling
Emma Brady, Geology
Ahna Lassegard, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Bradley Miller - Agronomy
Project name: Particle size sorting along hillslopes in a forested versus urban environment
Kaitlyn Lathrop, Animal Science
Vincent Vanyo, Genetics
Faculty mentor: Chris Minion - Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Project name: Genetics of mycoplasmas
Abraham De Jong, Biochemistry
Erika Nelson, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Nicholas Peters - Plant Pathology
Project name: Identification and characterization of novel viruses that kill Escherichia coli
Peter Exley, Mechanical Engineering
Justin Nock, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Brian Steward - Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Magnetic Filtration of Particle Contaminants from Hydraulic Fluids
Katelyn Nelson, Chemical Engineering
Matthew Truka, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Lester Wilson - Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Bioactive assay of grape pomace post-wine production
Ivy College of Business
Cameron Bristow, Marketing
Faculty mentor: Samantha Cross - Marketing
Project name: Understanding food insecurity on college campuses
Audrey Jones, Business
Faculty mentor: David Cantor - Supply Chain Management
Project name: Do consumers care about pharmaceutical contamination in the supply chain?
College of Design
College of Engineering
Cassidy Carolan, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Impact of shockwaves on viability of brain cells
Ian Dalton, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Parametric analysis of external conditions affecting cavitation bubble properties
Adam Eichhorn, Materials Engineering
Faculty mentor: Michael Bartlett - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Making adhesion on challenging surfaces patterned adhesive films
Grant Giansanti, Computer Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sonal Padalkar - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Scalable synthesis of copper oxide nanowires for electrocatalysis and anti-microbial studies
Brenna Hartse, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Mechanically exfoliated graphene as a platform for characterizing neuronal cell damage
Joshua Holtzleiter, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: The influence of brain tissue hydration on the adhesion of airbrushed speckles
Andrew Mord, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jaime Juarez - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Hydrogel rheology sampled by acoustophoretic microparticle transport
William Neilson, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ian Schneider - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Separating cells through spatial control of mechanical properties
Claire Palmer, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Michael Bartlett - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Switchable adhesion through smart materials
Isaac Peterson
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Manufacturing of biocompatible hollow microvessels using a microfluidic device
Mia Riddley
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Development of Brain-on-a-chip to control microvessel cell culturing
Maddi McAleer, Mechanical Engineering
Hannah Nguyen, Chemical Engineering
Sam Richardson, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Rayleigh Wave Laser Line Source
Matthew Greiner, Mechanical Engineering
Si Yuan Sim, Electrical Engineering
Nathan Trotter, Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Rayleigh Wave Laser Line Source
Tyler Gerold, Aerospace Engineering
Khanh Hoang, Aerospace Engineering
Anthony Karl, Mechanical Engineering
Luke Marzen, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Subharmonic detection of defects
Benjamin Gardner, Electrical Engineering
Keirick Glennon, Electrical Engineering
Alexander Rickabaugh, Mechanical Engineering
Frank Sullivan, Software Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Comparison of coax and ultrasound detection of defects
Brianna Burton, Chemical Engineering
Jacob Davis, Chemical Engineering
Charles-Umashan Egharevba, Chemical Engineering
Will Henrichsen, Chemical Engineering
Conner Smith, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Untitled
Janie Grover, Civil Engineering
Zakhary Keel, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Tim Ellis - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: High-rate treatment of landfill leachate using the Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) for renewable energy recovery
Timothy Ellis, Software Engineering
Garrett Fields, Aerospace Engineering
Damien Henry, Electrical Engineering
Alec Rosentrater, Aerospace Engineering
Tom Ruminski, Computer Engineering
Faculty mentor: Randall Geiger - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Autonomous energy delivery to untethered TOT nodes
Charles Bruchal, Materials Engineering
Lucas Eddinger, Mechanical Engineering
Shiva Neelakantan, Mechanical Engineering
Jonathan Ravishankar, Mechanical Engineering
Clavin Shuck, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ralph Napolitano - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Investigation of hot-cracking susceptibility in advanced Al-based and Ni-based alloys
Matthew Bindel, Industrial Engineering
Katie Wyatt, Industrial Engineering
Faculty mentor: Frank Peters - Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project name: Large Scale Parallel 3D Printing of Metal Casting Patterns
Natalie McAninch, Chemical Engineering
Dennis Seay, Chemical Engineering
Ashlan Simpson, Statistics
Faculty mentor: Derrick Rollins - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Activity tracker
Maria Lebedeva, Chemical Engineering
Megan Wolfe, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ian Schneider - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Spatial control of the mechanizal properties of alginate
Isaac Hunter, Construction Engineering
Mira Luke, Civil Engineering
Noah Rudi, Construction Engineering
Faculty mentor: Behrouz Shafei - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Investigation of Concrete under Environmental and Mechanical Stressors
Alexanderia Birlingmair, Civil Engineering
Ingrid Gail Guevarra, Civil Engineering
Ellenor Whitney, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Experimental simulation of structural failures utilizing a simple shake table
College of Human Sciences
Elizabeth Clow, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ellen McKinney - Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management
Project name: Development of hand-specific model and systematic tool (HMST) for next generation gloves used for firefighters and other emergency responders
Ben Hones, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Rachel Eike - Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management
Project name: Novel developments in conductive nanofiber technology for wearable electronics
Reese Gardner, Computer Science
Alexis Steinhoff, Biology
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Shirtcliff - Human Development & Family Studies
Project name: Evoking stress reactivity in virtual reality: transportation stress
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Collin Anderson, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Wenyu Huang - Chemistry
Project name: Developing new intermetallic NP catalysts
Kathryn Blair, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: John Hauptman - Physics & Astronomy
Project name: Calculation of magnetic and electric fields for an experimental search for magnetic charges
Jonah Gray, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Ajay Nair - Horticulture
Project name: Use of micronutrient-based biostimulants in vegetable transplant production
Nicholas Serck, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Junqi Li - Chemistry
Project name: Synthesis of building blocks for the modular construction of terpene-inspired macrocycles
Matt Shafer, Biochemistry
Faculty mentor: Olga Zabotina - Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Project name: Study of the xylosyltransferase specific activity towards substrates
Claire Beaudry, Liberal Arts & Sciences
Lydia Samuelson, English
Hannah Van Sickle, English
Faculty mentor: David Russell - English
Project name: Academic research writing: Keeping the flow going
Abigail Fowler, Microbiology
Anna Garbe, Biology
Peyton Hamel, Genetics
Riley Kuennen, Chemical Engineering
Amanda Roush, Biology
Faculty mentor: Donald Sakaguchi - Genetics, Development & Cell Biology
Project name: Electrical stimulation and differentiation of neural stem cells
Regan Breen, Biochemistry
William Alex Rance, Biochemistery
Faculty mentor: Eric Underbakke - Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Project name: Defining scaffolding interfaces in PSD-95
Mentor grant recipients from previous years are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
University Honors Program Grants
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone projects.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: February 2 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
University Honors Program Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Jacob Gasper
Faculty mentor: Shelby Doyle - Architecture
Project name: Architectural Clay Formwork
Dhaval Ghone
Faculty mentor: Eric Henderson - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Creating and Testing of Cas9 Delivering DNA Origami Nanosystem
Hannah Gorton
Faculty mentor: Sekar Raju – Marketing
Project name: Satisfaction with Major Selection
Stefan Peng
Faculty mentor: Don Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells through Electric Field Stimulation
David Reynolds
Faculty mentor: Raquel Espin Palazon - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Development of a Microfluidic Platform for Embryonic Zebrafish Confocal Microscopy Imaging
Nathan Robillard
Faculty mentor: Marian Kohut - Kinesiology
Project name: Monocyte Inflammatory Pathways in Depression
Jacob Schmieder
Faculty mentor: Laurie Smith Law - Honors Program
Project name: Sound Sensitive Lights for Instruments
Chirayu Shukla
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Stegemoller - Kinesiology
Project name: The Storm
Brian Todey
Faculty mentor: Greg Curtzwiler – Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Determining the Viability of Paper and Non-Synthetic Wax for Food Packaging
Alexander VandeLoo
Faculty mentor: Kristin Rozier - Aerospace Engineering
Project name: Robotic Development
Jack Wilgenbusch
Faculty mentor: Ashley Goreczny – Marketing
Project name: Understanding SEO Strategy: Analyzing Paid Versus Organic Keyword Searches
Previous UHP grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Stewart Research Award
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone and other research projects. Preference for these awards will be given to research that is likely to result in a student-authored or coauthored publication.
Application deadlines:
Fall: November 10
Spring (funds permitting): February 2
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Stewart Research Award application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Dhaval Ghone
Faculty mentor: Eric Henderson - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Creating and Testing of Cas9 Delivering DNA Origami Nanosystem
Stefan Peng
Faculty mentor: Don Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells through Electric Field Stimulation
David Reynolds
Faculty mentor: Raquel Espin Palazon - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Development of a Microfluidic Platform for Embryonic Zebrafish Confocal Microscopy Imaging
Previous Stewart Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Honors Student Enrichment Grant
Grants of up to $300 are available to help cover travel and/or registration expenses to present research at a national conference, or expenses related to the preparation of a manuscript for publication. Preference will be given to students presenting at an academic or professional conference.
Application deadlines:
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, funds permitting. Once all funding has been allocated for a given academic semester, the website will be updated and no additional applications will be accepted until the following semester.
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Student Enrichment Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Previous Student Enrichment Grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant
A Grant of up to $500 is available to students in Animal Science to help cover project expenses related to the research they are doing within their field of study. Preference will be given to students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program, and only one Melampy Grant will be awarded each year for a Spring or Summer term.
Application deadline: February 18, 2021
Online application form: Melampy Grant application
Emily Gress
Emily is a first-year student in biology with a minor in animal science from Bennington, Nebraska. She is a member of the President's Leadership Class, Running Club, and Best Buddies and also works as an Academic Success Center Tutor. She is looking forward to teaching a First-Year Honors Program 121 Seminar next fall. Emily's interest in veterinary medicine and research with both human and animal health applications led her to work with Dr. Josh Selsby. Her project for the First-Year Mentor Program is a parabiosis experiment investigating the effect of transfused heat stressed serum to thermoneutral recipients in swine.
Previous Melampy Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Chi-Wai Ho Principles of Community Awards
Grants are available to help fund research or activities that promote the understanding and mutual respect among people of different races, backgrounds, and experiences. Projects that have tangible or measurable results and have the potential for a recurring impact will be prioritized.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: February 2 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Principles of Community Award application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Recipients to be named